Beyond the Stars Read Online Free

if he was a spy? I had heard of people infiltrating developmental fields in order to steal their technology. Clearly, he had the mental and physical capabilities needed for espionage. I liked Noah and prayed he was good. He spoke with no trace of a foreign accent. Still, I could not think of a logical explanation for the bizarre writing. I was dying to take another look at the writing, but he didn’t leave my side for the rest of the afternoon. The next day, I planned to take a picture of the pages when he stepped away, but the notes were gone. I kept looking for other warning signs. Nothing else seemed off, so I tried to forget about it. Days later, I was happily relieved to discover that Noah was a die-hard history buff in his spare time. Knowing him, he was probably memorizing a dead language. He could rattle off exact dates of historical events like a news anchor broadcasting the nightly news. Perhaps he should have pursued a career in the field of archeology.
    We completed our orientation, and Josh announced, “Congratulations, class, you’re both up to speed now. Tess and Michael will be joining us on Monday,” he said, sounding a little disappointed.
    “Great!” I blurted out enthusiastically. I couldn’t wait to hear someone else speak. Josh got more dry and monotone the longer he spoke. If it weren’t for the copious amounts of caffeine I ingested, the sound of his voice could induce me into a nice, sound sleep.
    “Oh, wonderful, I’m glad you think we’re ready to get to work,” said Noah, smoothly covering my overreaction. I was grateful he had my back.
    Monday morning couldn’t arrive quickly enough. I walked into the lab and was immediately handed a new binder by Tess. “I hope you’re up for the challenge. We have our work cut out for us,” she said with a smile. “We have to fine-tune the regenerative environmental controls for the life support system of the future Space stations,” she said like an advertisement.
    “ Really? We’re not going to be working on the solar power satellites?”
    “No. I would like you to concentrate your energy on something else. We have enough people working on the solar sats.”
    “Of course, I want to pull my weight around here,” I said reassuringly. “What do you want me to do first?” I asked eagerly.
    “Our job is to develop ways to make life in Space resemble life here on Earth, while considering the limits of available resources. The book is just a start. We need to come up with more ideas.”
    I looked through the binder. There were outlines for hydroponic food production, oxygen generation, and water recycling.
    “Great, I know just where to begin.” This was right up my alley and exactly why I wanted to work here in the first place. Where else could you make up the most outlandish ideas and have the people around you say, “Oh yeah, that would be great; let’s build it”? I kept a list of ideas on hand for moments like these. If only I could call up my MIT classmates right now and tell them about this.
    “I thought you might.” She smirked.
    “Where’s Noah?” I asked when I realized he wasn’t around. “Isn’t he going to help us?” He had become my shadow.
    “No, he is going to be working with the engineering department for a while. We need him to work on the alternate propulsion systems for the unmanned transport of the ETs,” said Tess matter-of-factly.
    ETs, or hollow external fuel tanks, were used as building blocks for the Space station. Normally, the Space shuttle is lifted off the ground by two rocket boosters that drop off and parachute into the sea after two minutes. The fuel needed for the next six and one-half minutes in order to reach orbit is provided by the ETs. Once exhausted of fuel, these large, empty tanks will become the modules that are outfitted by our construction crew once in orbit. They could be turned into living quarters or research labs, depending on the need. All the preliminary electrical wiring